Hope Against Hope

Runtime: 100'

Expected release: Beginning of 2027

Production stage: Production

Budget: 52,96% in place

1st feature: No

Looking for: Gap financing, distributors, festivals

Synopsis:

Spanning a quarter of a century, Hope Against Hope is the filmmaker’s own story and an intimate look at how political and social conflicts shape us.

Director’s Profile:

Mina Keshavarz (b. 1984) is an award-winning Iranian documentary filmmaker and creative producer. Her films explore social-political issues using personal narratives, including “Unwelcome in Tehran” (Thessaloniki International Film Festival, 2012), “Profession: Documentarist” (Tim Hetherington Award in Sheffield Doc/Fest, IDFA, 2014), “Braving the Waves” (Best Documentary Film Award at London Film Festival, 2016), “The Art of Living in Danger” (Best Documentary Film at Busan International Film Festival, IDFA, Sheffield, 2020), and “Phobos” (CPH:DOX, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Millennium, 2023).

Mina is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Hot Docs Emerging Docs Accelerator Lab, EsoDoc, Tribeca Film Institute, and Women’s Circle Doc Accelerator. She is an invited fellow at Nipkow Film Residency, Berlin Air Film Residency, Cité Internationale des Arts, Villa Serpentara Rome, Akademie der Künste, and the Camargo Foundation.

Producer’s Profile:

Anita Norfolk is the founder of Norwegian Folk Film. She has co-produced a string of internationally acclaimed feature documentaries, most recently “Motherland” (2023, winner at CPH:DOX, nominated for the European Film Awards) and “How to Save a Dead Friend” (ACID Cannes, Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC).

Christophe Bruncher: In 2006, he co-created Films de la Butte, producing “All Together” by Stéphane Robelin, managing to convince Jane Fonda to return to France after a 30-year absence. The film premiered at Locarno and was released in over 30 countries with great success. His latest productions include “Women Do Cry” by Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova (Un Certain Regard, 2021) and “Not a Word” by Hana Slak (TIFF 2023).